CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE:
Mary Bono Addresses Institute’s Advisory Board
Senate Lifts Cap on Skilled Worker Visas; House
Judiciary Bill Requires Employer Attestations
Justice Distributes SCAAP Funds To California
ISTEA Passage Predicted Before Recess
Senate Tobacco Legislation; Feinstein Seeks
Equity
House Approves DOD Bill Authorizing Military for
Border Patrol Functions
House Commerce Examines Securities Litigation
House Resources Marks Up Salton Sea Bill
Bilingual, IDEA, Nutrition Bills Marked
Up
House Panel Examines Music & Film Piracy
National Oceans Conference in Monterey
Subcommittee Approves Disaster Mitigation
Bill
Census Subcommittee Scrutinizes Questionnaires
Mandatory Social Security for State & Local
Employees; California Would Be Impacted
E-Rate Demand to Exceed Supply in First Year
Closing Alameda Naval Base Offers Space for Environmental
Firms
Report on State’s Investment Capital Shortage
SENATE LIFTS CAP ON SKILLED WORKER VISAS; HOUSE
JUDICIARY REPORTS BILL REQUIRING EMPLOYER ATTESTATIONS
On Monday, the Senate passed, by a vote of
78-20, its version of a bill to raise the caps on the number of skilled
workers allowed visas under the H-1B program. On Wednesday, the House
Judiciary Committee reported its version, H.R. 3736, which also raises
the caps, but which requires that employers attest to recruiting efforts
to find U.S. workers and to not replacing American workers with foreign
labor.
Both bills raise the caps on H-1B visas from
the current 65,000 level to 95,000 for this year, with additional increases
to a maximum of 115,000 by fiscal year 2000. The current year’s 65,000
limit was already reached earlier this month, providing an urgency to act
quickly on lifting the cap.
The House bill significantly differs from
the Senate in that it requires U.S. employers to attest that they have
not laid off a worker with the same qualifications within the six months
preceding, or the 90 days following, application for the visa. Employers
must also attest to their proactive efforts to recruit and retain U.S.
workers for the positions for which H-1B visas are sought. During
the mark-up, an amendment, offered by Rep. James Rogan (Glendale) to strip
the bill of these provisions was defeated 7-24.
In the Senate, however, efforts to include
attestation provisions in the Senate bill were defeated. An amendment
to include the non-layoff provision was tabled 60-38, and an amendment
to require recruitment of U.S. workers before an H-1B visa was granted
was defeated 59-39. Many U.S. companies argue that they are already
undertaking significant recruitment efforts for qualified U.S. workers
and inclusion of the attestation provisions may create vague and broadly
applied regulations that would slow their ability to hire badly needed
foreign workers under the H-1B program. The Administration, however,
has indicated it supports the House version of the bill, and would likely
veto the bill if it did not contain the attestation provisions.
Prior to reporting H.R. 3637 by a vote of
23-4, the House Judiciary Committee also added several other amendments.
One, offered by Rep. Howard Berman (Mission Hills), and accepted by voice
vote, would protect employees who complain of H-1B violations from retaliation.
An amendment offered by Rep. Elton Gallegly (Simi Valley) to limit to four
years (rather than six) the length of the visas granted in excess of the
baseline 65,000 cap was also approved by voice vote. Rep. Zoe Lofgren
(San Jose) also offered several amendments, which were accepted by voice
vote: one requires a Government Accounting Office study of the information
technology labor market and the extent of a shortage of skilled workers
in that market; another authorizes a GAO study of whether there is age
discrimination against older workers in the information technology industry;
and a third requires the Immigration and Naturalization Service to compile
statistics on the recipient of H-1B visas showing their country of origin,
education level, the positions in which they are employed, U.S. salary,
and the like.
Rep. Lofgren also withdrew two amendments
after assurances from the Committee that it would continue to work with
her to develop language during floor or conference consideration.
One amendment would have required a minimum salary of $50,000 for any H-1B
visa worker admitted over the 65,000 baseline cap for this year; the other
would require employers to pay a $250-$500 fee for each visa application
and direct that the fee be used for the education and training of U.S.
workers.
JUSTICE DISTRIBUTES SCAAP FUNDS TO CALIFORNIA
Late last week, the Department of Justice
released $223.3 million to California and its counties to partially reimburse
them for the costs of incarcerating illegal criminal aliens. The
money is authorized under the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program
(SCAAP), and represents about 45 percent of the $500 million appropriated
in fiscal year 1997 funds. Nevertheless, the figure is about $47
million less than California received in FY 1996 funds. According
to the Governor’s office, this is because the number of jurisdictions
nationwide applying for SCAAP reimbursement has risen from 146 in FY96
to 249 in FY97, highlighting the need for increased funding.
California now reports that it spends $663
million annually to incarcerate illegal criminal aliens, or roughly three
times more than the amount for which the federal government reimbursed
the state. In addition, although the current SCAAP authorization
level is only $650 million, nationally state and county jurisdictions applied
for $1.46 billion in SCAAP reimbursement. Earlier this year, the
California Congressional Delegation wrote letters to Attorney General Janet
Reno urging her to release the reimbursement money as soon as possible,
(see, Bulletin, Vol. 5, No. 11 (3/26/98)), and to Rep. Hal Rogers (KY),
Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State,
urging funding of the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) at
its full authorization level of $650 million (see, Bulletin, Vol.
5, No. 13 (4/9/98)).
Among the disbursement’s made last week to
the state’s counties, Sacramento County was paid $2.57 million, San Joaquin
County received about $166,000, and El Dorado County received $158,107.
ISTEA PASSAGE PREDICTED BEFORE RECESS
Congress is anticipated to complete its work
on the conference report to reauthorize and fund the nation’s highway and
mass transit systems this week. As of late Thursday, the conference
committee still had yet to formally approve, and each House adopt, the
final version of the massive transportation bill before sending it to the
President. Although final details of how to allocate the highway
formula funds to the state and the level of mass transit funding were said
to be still in negotiation on Thursday, Congress is expected to complete
its work on Friday before returning home for the week-long Memorial Day
recess.
The unofficial framework of the approximately
$200 billion-plus measure includes about $173 billion for highways and
roughly $36.3 billion for mass transit in guaranteed funding. Unlike
the original ISTEA law, the 4.3 cents of gas taxes once redirected for
deficit reduction, instead, will now be spent on highways and mass transit.
More importantly, most of the funding for highways and mass transit will
be guaranteed or mandatory spending from the Highway Trust Fund.
However, the bill will most likely also contain money authorized from the
general fund which would still be subject to annual appropriations.
The deal necessitates about $20 billion in
offsets, many formally set out in the Senate’s Budget Resolution, which
include a $15.5 billion reduction in health benefits for veterans’ smoking-related
illnesses. Earlier this week, the House approved 442-0, a motion
to instruct the House conferees not to support the veteran’s offset, but
there has been no talk of finding a replacement offset.
Late Thursday, the House rejected two further
motions to instruct conferees, one to to limit the number of highway projects
in the bill and another asking that the ISTEA bill not exceed budget caps.
It is unclear what California’s share will
be of the highway and mass transit formula funds and additional discretionary
dollars. According to a letter to sent to all members of the California
congressional delegation last week by Caltrans (California’s state Department
of Transportation), California is likely to receive at least $2.3 billion
in annual funding, an increase over the average annual return of $1.6 billion
under the original ISTEA law. However, Caltrans warned that despite
the higher overall level of proposed funding for the state, California’s
contributions in federal tax dollars will continue to exceed the amount
of federal transportation dollars returned to the state. That means,
California’s percentage share of the enlarged transportation funding pie
may shrink under the rewrite as compared to other states. But with
the details of the emerging compromise bill still very vague, it is impossible
to predict what will be the final funding outcome.
SENATE DEBATING TOBACCO LEGISLATION; FEINSTEIN
SEEKING EQUITABLE ALLOCATIONS
The Senate has begun debating the National
Tobacco Policy and Youth Smoking Reductions Act, a process which will likely
continue when the Senate resumes activity in June after the Memorial Day
recess next week. Among the various features of the bill is a trust
fund, part of which would be distributed to states. At present the
bill would allocate state funds by pre-set figures. California’s
allocation figure would be pegged at 8.7% of total funds, while New York’s
would be 12.8% — despite the fact that each state’s share of the U.S.
population is closer to the reverse. California residents account
for roughly 12.1% of the nation’s population, while New York’s are just
6.8%.
Senator Dianne Feinstein and various senate
colleagues are seeking to allocate funds in a more equitable fashion, based
on population. Ultimately, these funds are meant to help states and
local governments deal with the costs of dealing with smoking related health
problems, and a population-based allocationwould get the funds to where
they are needed.
HOUSE APPROVES DOD BILL AUTHORIZING MILITARY FOR
BORDER PATROL FUNCTIONS
By a vote of 357 to 60 on Thursday evening,
the House completed work on and approved a $270 billion authorization bill
for the Department of Defense. The bill adds a provision authorizing
the use of military personnel to help patrol U.S. borders to prevent undocumented
immigration and drug smuggling. The border patrol provision was approved
by a 288-132 margin after rejecting an amendment by Rep. (and former border
patrol official) Silvestre Reyes (TX) to water down the amendment.
Proponents of the border patrol provision argued that more help is needed
in those areas and that the INS or Customs Service would have to request
the assistance and the Secretary of Defense would have to approve it.
Opponents countered that DOD personnel are already strapped and that this
may not be a legitimate military function.
As mentioned in prior editions, the bill does
not authorize the two additional rounds of military base closures that
were requested by the Clinton Administration. For further details
regarding the DOD authorization bill, see last week’s Bulletin, Vol.
5, No. 17 (5/14/98).
HOUSE COMMERCE EXAMINES SECURITIES LITIGATION LEGISLATION
The House Commerce Committee’s Finance and
Hazardous Materials Subcommittee held a hearing Tuesday on H.R. 1689, the
Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act of 1997. The bill, sponsored
by Rep. Anna Eshoo (Atherton) and Rep. Rich White (WA), would require that
class-action lawsuits on nationally traded securities would have to be
brought in federal courts. It is aimed at closing a loophole created
in the 1995 securities litigation reform law, which has resulted in the
plaintiffs’ bar bringing suit in state courts to circumvent the tougher
pleading standards and discovery restrictions contained in the federal
law.
Rep. Eshoo, a member of the Commerce Committee
but not the Finance Subcommittee, testified, as did Rep. Tom Campbell (Campbell),
a co-sponsor of H.R. 1689, and the author of a similar bill, H.R. 1653.
Both members supported early passage of the legislation, with Rep. Campbell
recommending three changes, including expanding the bill to cover private
securities actions, as well as class actions.
The subcommittee also heard from Securities
and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt, who acknowledged that there
has been a shift in securities actions from federal to state courts since
enactment of the 1995 Act. Chairman Levitt recommended that the Committee
adopt the changes made by the Senate, after negotiation with the SEC.
Important among those changes was the inclusion of language in the legislative
history clarifying that in the 1995 Act Congress did not intend to eliminate
liability for reckless violations of federal securities laws, as some federal
trial courts have held.
Other witnesses included Robert C. Hinkley,
General Counsel, Xilinx, testifying on behalf of the American Electronics
Association, and Blake Campbell, Assistant Commissioner, Securities Regulation
Division of the California State Department of Corporations. Copies
of the testimony can be obtained through the Committee’s website at http://www.house.gov/commerce.
HOUSE RESOURCES MARKS UP SONNY BONO SALTON SEA BILL
The House Resources Committee on Wednesday
reported out H.R. 3267, the “The Sonny Bono Memorial Salton Sea Reclamation
Act,” by voice vote after approving a substitute offered by Rep. John Doolittle
(Rocklin), chair of the Committee’s Water and Power Subcommittee.
The substitute bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a
feasibility study and report to Congress on a recommended project to reclaim
the Salton Sea. In addition, the Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge
would be renamed the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge.
The study, to be completed within 18 months, is funded at $30 million,
with $350 million authorized for construction of the approved project.
Wildlife resources studies, authorized at $5 million, would be conducted
concurrently with the feasibility study. In addition, $3 million
is authorized for cleaning up the Alamo and New Rivers.
During consideration of the bill, the committee
adopted an amendment that ensures all current rights and obligations concerning
Colorado River water use are preserved, and that all activities to implement
the project would be carried out consistent with existing Colorado River
rights and obligations.
After attending the mark-up, Rep. Mary Bono
(Palm Springs), chair of the Salton Sea Task Force, stated that she has
“every hope that the bill will pass the House and we will take another
step towards saving California’s largest inland body of water and preventing
a major environmental crisis.”
HOUSE K-12 EDUCATION SUBCOMMITTEE MARKS UP BILINGUAL, IDEA, NUTRITION
BILLS
The Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth,
and Families met today to consider a plethora of education measures and
bills to re-authorize the nation’s child nutrition programs. The
subcommittee is chaired by Rep. Frank Riggs (Windsor) and the ranking Democrat
is Rep. Marty Martinez (Monterey Park).
The panel approved four education measures
and two resolutions. On a party-line vote of 10 to 5, the Subcommittee
approved H.R. 3892 to convert federal bilingual education programs into
a single block grant. The move would allow state and local agencies
to design their own bilingual education programs. Bilingual education
is a hot issue in the 1998 elections, as voters will decide the fate of
Proposition 227, and Governor Wilson recently vetoed an alternative to
the ballot initiative. The Riggs bill would obviate consent decrees
nationwide which contain requirements of providing bilingual education,
and it allows parents to remove children from classes taught in the child’s
native language. Rep. Martinez opposed the measure, arguing that
it actually diminished local control over educating children. According
to the California Department of Education, the state to date has received
between 40% and 45% of federal funds under the Bilingual Education Act.
Approval was given to H.Res. 399, a measure
expressing a higher priority for federal funding of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and to H.R. 3254. H.R. 3254, offered
originally by Rep. Riggs as an amendment to last year’s Labor-HHS-Education
spending bill, would prohibit the federal government from withholding all,
instead of a proportion, of disabled education funds from states which
do not provide disabled education services to eligible inmates in state
prisons. (See Bulletin, Vol.
4, No.30 (9/11/97))
A dispute between the state and the U.S. Department
of Education jeopardized jeopardizes California’s entire $384 million in
IDEA funding. Rep. Martinez spoke to the importance of educating
youthful offenders in order for them to become productive members of society.
The Riggs amendment passed by voice.
In other action regarding disabled education,
the panel approved a resolution (H.Res. 399) which urges Congress and the
President to make funding for IDEA a higher priority among federal education
programs.
Two child nutrition measures, reauthorizing
the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program (H.R.3874) and the Summer
Food Service program (H.R. 3871), were also passed to the full committee.
The WIC program reauthorization would make few changes to the program,
retaining the formula for distributing WIC formula dollars under which
California received nearly 17% of funds in 1997.
The panel did not consider other scheduled
bills that would make changes to the child nutrition programs because of
an apparent lack of bipartisan agreement. Instead, Chairman Riggs
said the subcommittee would, for now, move forward only on the two bills
to renew the expiring nutrition programs. The subcommittee also did
not consider the Dollars to the Classrooms Act, introduced by Rep. Joseph
Pitts (PA), which would block grant a number of education programs and
require that 95% of funds for those programs be spent at the classroom
level.
Full committee consideration of the bills
is expected for Wednesday, June 3.
HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE EXAMINES PIRACY IN THE MUSIC AND FILM INDUSTRY
The House International Relations Subcommittee
on International Economic Policy and Trade held a hearing on Thursday to
explore the status of international intellectual property rights in the
music and film industry. The subcommittee heard from Bruce Lehman,
Asst. Secretary and Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks for the Department
of Commerce. Sec. Lehman applauded the Senate’s action in passing
the Digital Millennium Copyright Act last week by a vote of 99-0 (see,
Bulletin, Vol. 5, No. 17 (5/14/98)), and urged the House to adopt the Senate
language during consideration of its bill, H.R. 2281. He also testified
that the Administration supports copyright term extension to life of the
author plus 70 years, as is contained in H.R. 2589, the recently House
passed bill.
Bonnie J.K. Richardson, Vice President for
Trade and Federal Affairs for the Motion Picture Association of America
also testified. Ms. Richardson also testified in support of the Senate’s
Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the extension of copyright term, although
she stated the MPAA opposes the language included in the bill which exempts
bars, restaurants, and stores from paying licensing fees for music use.
Ms. Richardson also noted several countries, including Italy, Greece,
Mexico, and Russia, where the Administration is expected to focus its efforts
this year to control intellectual property violations.
Copies of the testimony of these and other
witnesses can be obtained through the International Relations Committee’s
website at http://www.house.gov/international_relations.
NATIONAL OCEANS CONFERENCE IN MONTEREY, JUNE
11-12TH
On June 11-12, the U.S. Navy and the Department
of Commerce will co-host a national forum on the importance and role of
oceans in the United States. Last year, the United Nations named
1998 as the International Year of the Ocean and earlier this year President
Clinton made a similar proclamation. The National Ocean Conference
will be held at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA.
Global security, commerce, environment, and
exploration and education will be the four central themes of the conference.
President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore are scheduled to attend, as
well as representatives from other federal agencies, state and local officials,
academics, researchers, and interested ocean groups. According to
Navy Secretary John Dalton, “one of every six jobs is marine-related and
one-third of the nation’s gross domestic product is produced in coastal
areas through fishing, transportation, and recreation.”
In preparation for the national conference,
Rep. Sam Farr (Carmel) and the Monterey Bay Ocean Consortium (MBOC) sent
a letter to President Clinton recommending three national initiatives and
a pilot program to be established at the forum. Rep. Farr also introduced
legislation, the Oceans Act of 1997 (H.R. 2547) and the California Coastal
Rocks and Islands Wilderness Act of 1998. H.R. 2547 would require
the President to establish a long-range national oceans policy, establish
a commission on oceans, and to report to Congress biennially on the impact
of the federal government on oceans. Nine Californians are co-sponsoring
the legislation which is under consideration by the Subcommittee on Fisheries
Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans of the House Resources Committee.
Introduced this week, the California Coastal Act would designate the islands
and rocks, and pinnacles off the California coast and under federal jurisdiction
as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
If you would like more information, please
visit http://www.mbocean.org/.
SUBCOMMITTEE APPROVES DISASTER MITIGATION
BILL
By a voice vote, the Subcommittee on Water
Resources and Environment of the House Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee approved H.R. 3869, the Disaster Mitigation Act of 1998, on Wednesday.
The bill, among other things, would authorize FEMA to design and implement
a three-year, $180 million national pre-disaster hazard mitigation program.
The bill is the result of a series of hearings (see Bulletin, Vol. 5, Nos.
3 (1/29/98),
11 (3/27/98),
and 16
(5/7/98)) held to examine the FEMA’s current efforts and other ways
to reduce the costs of disaster assistance. The measure now goes
to the full House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for consideration.
CENSUS SUBCOMMITTEE SCRUTINIZES QUESTIONNAIRES
The Census Subcommittee of the House Government
Reform and Oversight Committee
examined, at a Thursday hearing, the long and short form questionnaires
proposed for use in the 2000 Census. The decennial census is composed
of two questionnaires, the short and the long form. Every household
receives a short form and about one in six households receive the long
form (52 questions).
Both Reps. Constance A. Morella (MD) and Charles T. Canady (FL)
testified before the committee on their legislation regarding the long
form. Rep. Morella’s House Concurrent Resolution 246 would express
the sense of Congress that the Census Bureau should continue to collect
data using the long form in the 2000 Census. The Census Bureau has
proposed phasing out the long form in favor of an annual survey after the
2000 Census. Rep. Canady’s measure, H.R. 2081, would provide for
an enumeration of family caregivers as part of the 2000 decennial census.
According to Rep. Morella, the Census Bureau plans to ask only questions
required by court order or federal law in order to simplify the long form.
Committee members inquired about the need for specific information on family
caregivers and whether or not federal agencies that use data gathered from
specific long form questions should share the cost burden of the census.
Many witnesses cited the statistic that the long form, which costs less
than one-tenth ($400 million) of the cost of the total decennial census,
is cost-effective and the only resource for the information gathered.
Representatives from the Coalition to Preserve
Census Data, American Legion; Formosan Association for Public Affairs;
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials; Competitive
Enterprise Institute, and the Working Group on Ancestry also testified
and submitted written comments at the hearing.
WAYS & MEANS PANEL EXAMINES MANDATORY SOCIAL
SECURITY COVERAGE FOR STATE & LOCAL EMPLOYEES; CALIFORNIA WOULD BE
AMONG 7 STATES IMPACTED BY A CHANGE
The House Ways & Means Subcommittee on
Social Security held a hearing Thursday on the issue of mandatory inclusion
of state and local employees in the Social Security system. Traditionally,
the Social Security system has allowed state and local governments to opt
out of the retirement system if they provide a parallel system for their
employees. California is among seven states (the others being Colorado,
Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Ohio and Texas) which account for 75%
of non-covered payroll. Nationwide, roughly 4.9 million state and
local employees are not covered — or about 30% of all such employees in
the U.S.
Bills have been introduced in this Congress
to extend mandatory coverage to all newly hired state and local employees,
perhaps in response to concerns that the Social Security system may face
a shortfall in approximately 30 years. While proponents of mandatory
coverage argue the impact can be lessened by gradual phase-in and by covering
only new hires, many in California and other affected states are concerned
that eliminating the state and local plan for teachers and other public
employees will gradually bankrupt these systems.
Rep. Barney Frank (MA) is sponsoring HR 2549
to modify the windfall law to eliminate the reduction in the Social Security
benefit if a retired member’s combined monthly Social Security benefit
and government pension is $2000 or less. If the combined amount is
$3000 or more, the windfall would still apply and the Social Security benefit
would be reduced as under present law. Between $2000 and $3000, the
benefit would be phased in. Legislation that would modify the offset
law, HR 2273, has been introduced by Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La).
A proposal revealed this week for treating
Social Security’s ills included gradual a raising of the retirement age
from 65 to 70 (with a corresponding rise in the early retirement age from
62 to 65) which would keep pace with the increasing life expectancies of
present-day Americans. The proposal, drafted by the National Commission
on Retirement Policy, also proposed taking two percentage points from the
12.4% payroll tax for Investment Savings Accounts to invest in stocks,
bonds, government securities or a combination thereof, in the hope that
the return might exceed the 2.7% currently averaged by Social Security.
The commission would phase in a reduction in benefits for spouses who had
not paid into the program.
Because relatively fewer Californians are
over the age of 65 (11.0%) than are residents of the national as a whole
(12.8%), Californians proportionally pay more into Social Security than
they receives back in relative payments.
The witness list for the Thursday hearing
is available on the committee’s website at http://www.house.gov/ways_means/socsec/ss-16wit.htm.
Written testimony from the hearing will be available at that address in
the near future.
FCC SAYS E-RATE DEMAND TO EXCEED SUPPLY IN FIRST
YEAR
Last spring, the Federal Communications Commission
established an “e-rate” — a discounted education rate schools and libraries
pay for telecommunications service. This month, the FCC indicated that
it expects to collect $1.67 billion from phone companies this year to pay
for e-rate discounts — $350 million less than the projected demand and
$580 million less than the $2.25 billion cap for the program. FCC
sources were quoted saying that the $2.25 billion figure was meant to be
an annual cap, but that first year funding is likely to come up short.
The FCC lowered the total figure due to concerns that phone companies might
otherwise have to raise long-distance rates or otherwise pass costs to
consumers. The e-rate offers school districts discounts of 20-90%
for telecommunications services based on poverty levels and discounts on
inside connections to classrooms and Internet access including installation
and maintenance costs. According to late data, 53% of the discount
requests for 1998 to date are for high poverty schools which would recive
discounts in the 80-90% range.
ALAMEDA NAVAL AIR STATION CONVERSION OFFERS COMMERCIAL
SPACE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL FIRMS
This week, the Alameda Center for Environmental
Technologies (ACET) Corporation announced the opening of a commercial space
for environmentally-related enterprises as part of the overall conversion
of commercialization of federal laboratory research. ACET, a partnership
between the Alameda Reuse and Redevelopment Authority and California State
University, Hayward, is part of the larger federal effort to convert former
military facilities to private, peacetime use. Converted from military
to civilian use last April, the Alameda Naval Air Station was scheduled
for closure as part of the 1993 BRAC III.
The ACET facility already is home to three
companies and has room for about 20 more. The facility includes 10
modern wet laboratories equipped with exhaust hoods, reportedly the only
facility of its kind in the west. The three established companies
are Ocellus Incorporated, Retrokool, and Electrox Environmental Incorporated.
The ACET also hopes the new occupants of the commercial space will provide
opportunities for displaced defense workers.
If you would like more information, please
contact ACET at 510/749-3977.
CRB REPORT EXAMINES INVESTMENT CAPITAL SHORTAGE IN CALIFORNIA
A recent report by the California Research
Bureau takes a critical look at a $6 billion problem facing California
— the shortage of venture capital for emerging growth companies.
Entitled “Business Capital Needs in California: Designing a Program,” the
report was prepared by Gus Koehler, Ph.D. and Rosa Maria Moller, Ph.D in
April. The report estimates California’s need for early-stage investment
capital and reviews what other states have done to address similar problems.
The report estimates the early-stage capital need of rapidly growing companies
(“gazelles”) in California, examines how early-stage investment networks
form, and assesses the success-rate of state-sponsored early-stage investment
programs.
The report also reviews the structure and experiences of similar
investment in other states. All programs cited involve an initial
monetary contribution by the state for business capital investment purposes.
The reviewed programs include publicly run venture capital programs and
public/private funds that are for the most part privately managed.
For a copy of the report, as well as other
CRB reports, visit the CRB home page at http://www.library.ca.gov.
This report is available in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format (608kb) on that
page at http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/98/05/98005.pdf.
Alternatively, you may contact the CRB at (916) 653-7843.
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